The Daily Blog – Season 1

7th September 2017

1.63 – How did the snake get in my tent?

Reason #1 to love Scotland- the ‘right to roam’ laws.

Imagine being out in the wild with everything you need to eat, drink, and sleep in on your back. And imagine there are no fences, no boundaries, and no limitations on where you can walk and sleep. The sun is out and the landscape is beautiful. Scotland’s right to roam laws are the closest you can get to making this a reality in the UK.

Just get the train to the end of the line, put away your OS map and start walking. When you get tired, stop. If you want to change direction, do. When you find the perfect place to sleep for the night, pitch your tent. This is the core of the right to roam; you may pitch a tent and sleep in it anywhere in the countryside as long as it is not disruptive.

Tip 1- Go in summer. Scotland is an entirely unforgiving beast when it comes to winter.

Tip 2- Bring enough fuel to last your whole trip. I did not and ended up eating cold porridge and Haribo for three days.

Tip 3- Bring stuff to entertain yourself because the evenings are long and there aren’t many people. Alternatively, bring another human.

Tip 4- Bring a battery pack because the number of Insta-worthy photos you will take is limitless, however your batteries are not.

Tip 5- If you wake up with a snake in your tent (honest to god I have no idea how it got in), don’t freak out because it is probably just a slow-worm. Note- ‘probably’.